Bank helps family fighting terminal illness and foreclosure

April 10, 2012 at 8:30 PM HST - Updated June 26 at 5:12 PM

Doloroso Dumlao

EWA BEACH (HawaiiNewsNow) - A difficult situation has been made even tougher for an Ewa Beach family. Warlita Dumlao, 67, is facing terminal illness. Her family's bank is foreclosing on their home. All they while they know there is life insurance money that will help.

The Dumlao family hired bankruptcy attorney Rick Abelmann to help but he says what they really need is the bank to have a heart.

"She's beautiful, caring and a loving mother, friend and wife," said Doloroso Dumlao, referring to Warlita Dumlao, his wife of 27 years.

Last October doctors discovered a lump on her liver. It lead to complications. Her immune system started failing. They were told a transplant would be useless. Now she has stopped taking medicines except for pain management and she's been sent home to live out her final days.

"I just stay here sitting down and watch her if she is ready to go," said Doloroso Dumlao.

The Dumlao's were living the dream. They bought their Ewa Beach house 18 years ago. She retired after working 33 years as a hotel housekeeper in 2008. Then he retired as a draftsman in 2010. But the next year she got sick.

"All of this happened at the same time," said Dumlao.

Warlita was first hospitalized last November. That's also the month they started missing their house payments. They say Citi Bank has bombarded them with the foreclosure process.

"I cannot sleep only yesterday I feel sick," said Dumlao.

He has asked Citi for leniency while he cares for his wife and also because there will be life insurance money he can use to catch up.

Then a day after we contacted the bank Dumlao got the call while we were still at the house. Citi Bank has frozen the foreclosure proceedings.

"Don't worry for now because somebody called him up at Citi Mortgage and they say they are going to hold for the meantime," said Dumlao. "Our mind will be settled down about this kind of problem. I'm very happy for that."

The bank also told the Dumlao's they have received their loan modification paperwork and are said to be working on that process as well in order to get a more manageable interest rate.

Doloroso Dumlao still has plenty of worries but he and his wife getting kicked out of their home during the saddest point in their marriage isn't one of them.